One of only 846 Ghia 1500 GTs built
Based on Fiat 1500 mechanicals
Hand-built by Ghia in Turin
Beautiful colour combination
Extensively restored
By the mid-1960s, there was a keen sense in Turin that the world needed more than merely sensible Fiat saloons. Carrozzeria Ghia therefore decided to dress the mechanicals of the Fiat 1500 in a suit of its own – one that was more elegant, sharper and considerably more exotic. The result was the Ghia 1500 GT, a coupé whose profile could easily evoke far grander Gran Turismos, even if rather more down-to-earth ingredients were doing the work underneath.
Beneath the long bonnet sat Fiat’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine with just under 84 hp – hardly a revelation, but enough for a top speed of around 170 km/h. The figures mattered less than the appearance anyway: a low roofline, subtle hints of fins, a broad chrome grille up front and a rear end that was almost Ferrari-esque. The wheelbase of Ghia’s own chassis was shorter than that of the Fiat 1500, while the engine was moved further back, resulting in near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution. The coupé was correspondingly agile to drive. And with its elegantly designed dashboard, the cockpit could comfortably hold its own against the grand sports cars from Emilia-Romagna. Turin, after all, could do rather more than simply press sheet metal.
Beauty alone, however, does not make a bestseller. The Ghia 1500 GT was built from 1963 to 1967, largely in small batches and with a considerable amount of hand craftsmanship. Despite being priced on a par with a Porsche 356, only around 846 examples were produced in total, with output reaching barely four cars a day even at its peak. Too few to pose a serious threat to the established names, but quite enough to secure its reputation as a rarity. Today, only around 70 are believed to survive worldwide.
The Ghia 1500 GT is now regarded as a charming curiosity: not quite a sports car in the strictest sense, but rather a sort of “Gran Turismo light” – elegant, rare and unmistakably Italian.
Few people know these cars better than our consignor. He has owned and restored well into double figures of these Italian tailor-made suits. The violet-blue paintwork and beige interior demonstrate rather convincingly that these sporting coupés were far more than merely Fiats in prettier clothes.